Oil and gas leases near marine park spark furore

In the Western Australian Government's own words, the Rowley Shoals are regarded as "the most perfect examples of shelf-edge atolls in Australian waters".

So it must have come as a shock to WA Environment Minister Bill Marmion to learn that as long ago as April last year, the Federal Government opened up a series of leases for oil and gas companies to bid for the rights to explore within three nautical miles of the pristine marine park.

It is not easy to get to, with a 12 hour boat journey and it's certainly not cheap, but that doesn't prevent thousands of intrepid tourists, recreational fishers and divers travelling to the marine park each year.

So a decision to open up more than a dozen exploration leases in the vicinity of the Rowley Shoals has everyone from environmentalists to recreational fishers and even the state's Environment Minister stunned.

"I haven't had a call from the Federal Minister; first I heard about the exploration permit was on the radio," Mr Marmion said.

Complete surprise

The Rowley Shoals was declared a marine park in 1990 and has been managed by the State Government's Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) ever since.

The Shoals have a three nautical mile clearance before the marine park stops, and Commonwealth waters begin.

Minister Marmion was aware of the first round of 16 releases opened up for exploration last year, but the second release of 13 areas, which close this month, came as a complete surprise.

He says he is concerned about the long term environmental impact of opening up those reserves, and the impact on divers, tourism operators and recreational fishers.

The news has also come as a shock to tourism operators in the Kimberley.

"It's caught some of us by surprise. There's a few operators who have some quite big investments and I think it would be worthy of the government to have involved us in the very early stages of the decision," he said.

Mr Howson is concerned offshore drilling would ruin the experience for people visiting the area.

"The beauty of the Rowley Shoals is it's 300 kilometres off the coast of Broome and is absolutely in the middle of nowhere. So of course having large drilling within sight of the Shoals will change that wilderness aspect of the whole experience."

RecFishWest's Acting Chief Executive Andrew Rowland says recreational fishers around the state are unhappy with the development.

"I think there's a few recreational fishermen around the state scratching their heads at this news."

"With all the vastness of the ocean throughout that area, it really beggars belief that they would consider placing or doing any exploration in close proximity to these atolls."

He says if exploration in the area uncovers oil and gas deposits, he has no doubt oil rigs will clutter the horizon.

"I mean state waters around the atolls stretch only three nautical miles, so Commonwealth waters come right up to that boundary. From all appearances it looks like that perhaps oil and gas exploration will be able to come up to that close to the atolls and that's a major concern of ours."

Too late?

Paul Gamblin from the World Wildlife Fund is concerned the Federal Government might only take a few short months to assess bids and grant access to the area.

He fears seismic activity could begin within months.

"An oil spill, even a small spill, even within a few kilometres of a place like this which is so healthy, so pristine, could be devastating."

But protestations by those concerned about exploration in the area might be too late.

Oil and Gas giant Woodside in conjunction with Shell, was awarded three permits to explore in the Rowley sub-basin last year.

The company has released a statement saying it plans to start drilling in the area next year, but that the work will be subject to rigorous environmental assessments.

The company says it operates a "two barrier" standard at all of its operations which prevents reservoir fluids flowing into the environment.

The Government is singing a similar tune. The Federal Minister for Mines and Petroleum Martin Ferguson has released a statement saying any successful bidder will have to have an environmental plan assessed by regulators, before any seismic or drilling activity can start.

The statement went on to say part of the potential lease area is being considered for a marine reserve.

Paul Gamblin says that is the crux of the issue.

"The resources arm of Government is fast releasing areas before the environment arm reaches decision points," he said.

With every release, the areas available for protection shrink, including for highly important places like the Rowley Shoals, despite their clear and acknowledged environmental sensitivity."